


The Card Reads As Follows:

by minkhollow



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-21
Updated: 2016-09-21
Packaged: 2018-08-16 10:35:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8098870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minkhollow/pseuds/minkhollow
Summary: When Souji gives up on the Phantom Thief case before it truly begins, Kanji picks up the slack, with varying levels of success.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I have been threatening to write this for a while now, and over the last couple days it finally coalesced. Mostly follows the canon social link path, with a couple of tweaks based on headcanon that Kanji and Naoto met when they were tiny, but had long fallen out of touch by the time the game's events began.

Of all the things Kanji expected to see when he got home, Naoto, standing by the textile shop’s mailbox and looking about ready to cry, was pretty low on the list. But there Naoto is, and that’s exactly what’s happening. (Really, the ‘about ready to cry’ part is the weird thing here, considering how damn composed Naoto is all the time.)

Talking to Naoto, at least when they’re alone, is still scarier than chasing after a bunch of rowdy bikers, somehow, but Kanji screws up all the courage he has inside him and says, “Hey, what’s wrong?”

Naoto squeaks – actually squeaks; there’s a noise he never thought he’d hear – but shakes it off, trying to meet Kanji’s gaze with a smile. “Ah – nothing, Kanji-kun. Nothing more than a momentary setback. I’ll be fine, I assure you.”

“You ain’t fine right now, though. What the hell happened?”

Naoto sighs, but launches into a story anyway, about a blank card with a riddle in invisible ink on it, and Nanako-chan making that connection, and Senpai _refusing to help_ after getting Naoto this far. It’s about then that Kanji notices the cardboard badge in Naoto’s hand. It looks kinda familiar, and very much like a little kid made it, and… well, exactly like the kind of thing Naoto would consider precious.

There’s really only one thing he can say to that. “Someone’s stealin’ your stuff? You bet your ass I’ll help you find it. You wouldn’t’a kept it this long if it wasn’t important, right?”

Naoto actually manages to laugh – it’s shaky, and not the high-pitched unrestrained version that gives him chills and makes Naoto grumble every time someone mentions it, but it’s there. “Well, Grandfather and I do both have slight hoarding tendencies… but I suppose that’s rather beside the point, isn’t it. I anticipate this to be a challenging case in a way the murders are not, but if you’d truly like to help, I’d be grateful for it.”

“Of course.” It’s pretty clear to Kanji that Naoto would never follow up on something that started in invisible ink, of all things, alone. It’d look too childish – but this must be important, or Senpai bailing wouldn’t have been so upsetting.

***

He should’ve thought, before he agreed to help Naoto with this, that it’d involve riddles.

Really, Kanji should’ve thought that it’d involve spending a lot of time alone with Naoto, but that part’s getting less intimidating. For once in his life, he’s actually got the upper hand in social interaction; neither of them had many friends growing up, but Kanji at least had Naoki, and Yukiko-senpai for a while. Naoto had pretty much no one, other than a few adults.

Now that he’s gotten over himself a little, hanging out with Naoto is the easy part. The trouble is when they’re sitting under the gazebo by the river tearing their hair out over these stupid goddamn puzzles – well, Kanji’s plenty frustrated, anyway. Naoto’s only making that ‘are you a pack of imbeciles?’ face, and really, that could mean anything.

“No, I – how the _hell_ can a tree only grow when a business ain’t open? Pretty sure that’s not how it works.”

“I don’t believe that’s the intent of the riddle, Kanji-kun. The first sentence is a distraction, while the second gives us our clues as to where the Phantom Thief hid his latest treasure of mine.”

 _Treasure_. He knew this was a hell of a lot more serious to Naoto than Naoto wants to admit. “And that doesn’t make any sense either! Seven and three’a what?”

“Seven and _third_.” Naoto frowns at the card, then sits bolt upright. “Of course! It’s a word elimination puzzle! Note the unnatural phrasing of the numbers – ‘third’ is meant to indicate a place, and ‘seven’ is the marker! Where’s the largest tree down here?”

Naoto’s goddamn adorable, this excited.

Sure enough, at the base of the largest tree by the river, under some freshly-dug dirt, is a watch that Naoto says has a really bright backlight. That sounds familiar too, but Kanji can’t quite put his finger on it. (For some reason, he’s thinking it should be in pieces.)

Then Naoto sighs. “Why couldn’t I have been born male?”

“Huh?”

“There would be no arbitrary restraints on what I want to do with my life. I could pursue my career without all this… trouble.”

Kanji frowns. He’s not sure if he’s the best person for this kind of conversation, but he’s the only one Naoto has right at this moment, so he figures he’s gotta give it a try. “The hell kinda thing to say is that? You’re _you_. You don’t have to be any more of a guy or a girl, you just… gotta be you. Besides, bein’ a guy ain’t all you’ve cracked it up to be. People probably woulda found just as much bullshit to try t’hold you to either way.”

“…I suppose you have a point there. Thank you, Kanji-kun.”

As they head back toward the shopping district, Naoto’s smiling.

***

Things go directly to hell in a handbasket with the murder case, right after that, so it’s a few days before anyone has the energy to think about anything other than Nanako-chan. But a few days after they get her out of the TV, Naoto approaches Kanji at lunch.

“Senpai apologized, but I see little point in drawing him back into the case. The last two cards – I have another, by the way – were left directly in my mailbox, meaning the thief knows where I live.”

“He does?” After their last tangle with threat letters, that’s more than a little disconcerting, but – well, Naoto probably has that part under control, and this is more the work of a really random kleptomaniac than a serial killer anyway. “Then why have Senpai give you the first card?”

“That, unfortunately, may remain a mystery. Shall we meet after school to discuss the new clue?”

They do, up on the hill this time since they both like it better, and it gives Kanji an even bigger headache than the last one. “Okay, this ain’t even how normal people talk anymore. It means even less than the bank one! Juries and fables got nothin’ to do with each other!”

“It is a riddle, Kanji-kun,” Naoto says, only a little exasperated (whether that’s at the riddle or at Kanji not getting it, he can’t tell).

“If it’s a riddle, why’s he tryin’ to turn it into a goddamn math problem?”

Naoto goes quiet, stares at the card, mutters, “Subtract ‘forty’ from the sentence…,” pulls out a pen, and starts crossing out parts of the non-sentence.

“I still don’t get it. Forty’a what?”

“Not forty of anything, the letters that comprise the words ‘forty’ and ‘four.’ The remaining letters are… Junes, table! Let’s go.”

Sure enough, there’s a pen taped to the underside of the Investigation Team’s usual table (the one they use when it’s not raining, anyway). Naoto being Naoto, it’s not just a pen, it’s also a flashlight and a telescope – and Kanji can picture it being held up to a toy robot’s eye in a game of make-believe Featherman Detective so clearly he’s almost positive he’s not actually imagining it.

Almost.

“When I made this… all I thought of was becoming a detective,” Naoto says, so quiet Kanji can barely hear it. “Gender was a non-issue, much like the fact that I had no peers. So why does it all worry me so much more now that I have you and the others?”

Kanji shrugs. “Everybody changes. You ain’t gotta be scared of it – we’ll still be there for you, no matter what.”

Naoto falls silent for so long Kanji’s worried he said the wrong thing. “I suppose there’s no point in pretending the thought of a major change in my life isn’t frightening, at least with you. I know I need to, but I wish to remain as I have been at the same time…”

“Hey, when you get right down to it, every single one’f us was goddamn lonely before we got pulled into the case.” He still hasn’t heard much about the Shadows that came before his, but that even seems to’ve been the case for Chie-senpai and Yukiko-senpai – pretty ironic, that they were so alone when they were always together.

“True enough, I suppose.” Naoto sighs, and smiles a little. “I believe I can hazard a guess as to the Phantom Thief’s identity, though I’m less sure of his motive. But we’ll leave that puzzle for another time.”

***

‘Another time’ turns out to be a couple days later, after Naoto does a little solo digging into things. Kanji doesn’t understand half of it, but Naoto’s good at this shit, so he believes it’s important – he’s just not really sure how, for most of it.

“The card stock used for these cards is from Shiroku,” Naoto says. “I need to stop by and ask the proprietor a couple of questions, but I believe the man who gave Senpai the first card would have purchased it not long before approaching him. And Senpai did mention one other interesting thing about him.”

“Yeah? What’s that?”

“Apparently, the man referred to me as ‘Naoto-sama’ before correcting to something more distant. What do you make of that?”

Kanji frowns. “It’s… someone who respects you a lot? But why would someone who thinks that highly of you steal your shit?”

“As I said, I can speculate as to the Phantom Thief’s identity. If we hurry, we may catch this man in black in the act.”

They stop by Shiroku first; Kanji buys a soda while Naoto goes in to ask questions. It’s not long before Naoto emerges, looking triumphant.

“The man in black just stopped by to acquire more card stock. Evidently he left the store heading north, likely in search of a new hiding place.”

“The shrine? Ain’t usually anyone there other than the fox.”

“Precisely what I was thinking, Kanji-kun. Shall we?”

It’s not a long walk from Shiroku to the shrine, but even in that short time, Kanji can’t help noticing that Naoto seems… kinda down, even though they’ve nearly wrapped this up. Or maybe it’s because they’ve nearly wrapped this up? It’s one hell of a goofy case, sure, but it’s lighter than serial murders or embezzlement or the kind of crap the police can’t handle.

Naoto’s probably been having actual fun with this one.

They reach the shrine, and sure enough, there’s a guy in a black suit by the relationship fortune box – brandishing a knife. But Kanji takes a second look before actually diving in front of Naoto, and realizes the blade’s nothing like shiny enough to be a _real_ knife (for all the scar on his forehead’s from knocking his head against Ma’s sewing machine and not the Biker Incident, one of those guys did pull a knife during the fight, so he’d know). “…That one’a your detective toys?”

“Yes, it’s a radio,” Naoto says, without looking away from the dude in black. “Yakushiji-san, _what_ is the meaning of all this?”

The dude sighs. “Your grandfather has been deeply worried about you of late, Naoto-sama. He thought you could stand to return to your roots – to the time when your only worry was how to become a detective, not what others thought of your ability to do so.” He glances at Kanji with the kind of ‘something smells funny’ face the cops give him all the time, and it takes all his self-control not to haul off on the guy. “I had hoped your other friend would be… more suited to the task.”

“Senpai may have pointed me in the right direction, but Kanji-kun’s help has been invaluable. You should not believe everything the rumor mill has to say about him. Was this the last item?”

“There is one more, but I believe your grandfather has yet to write the riddle. My deepest apologies for the inconvenience.” The dude bows deeply to them both, hands Naoto the knife, and leaves.

Kanji sighs. “Well, he’s kind of a jerk.”

“Grandfather calls him an officious, pedantic twat. He does care a great deal about us both, though. He wouldn’t have gone along with this ruse otherwise.” Naoto looks about ready to cry again, for some reason, and Kanji has no idea what to do about that, so the silence stretches out for so long it almost gets awkward.

That’s gotta be why he blurts out, “D’you wanna stay for dinner?”

Naoto blinks. “Er. I certainly wouldn’t mind, but neither do I want to impose on your family…”

“You wouldn’t be, Ma cooks enough for six people anyway. Besides, you had a _juice box_ for lunch. No wonder you’re so damn skinny.”

“In that case…” Naoto blushes bright red, but nods. “In that case, I would love to stay.”

He can’t believe he just did that. He can’t believe Naoto said yes. He can’t believe he’s willingly subjecting himself to dinner with his crush _and_ his ma. And yet, he still can’t stop grinning.

***

Ma spends the whole damn dinner pleased as punch that Naoto came over, and half of it telling stories about them playing together when they were little. Kanji doesn’t remember that, not really, but it’s not like Ma to make that kind of thing up, and Naoto doesn’t deny it. Is he remembering the watch in pieces because he saw Naoto fixing it up? Was Featherman Detective something they actually did?

And why didn’t he remember Naoto sooner, if that’s the case?

He’s stuck stewing over it all weekend, and then over lunch on Monday (Kanji made extra onigiri specifically so Naoto would actually eat something, and it works), Naoto says, “Yakushiji-san gave me the last clue this morning. If you’re still willing to assist me in this matter, I would appreciate it.”

“‘Course I am,” Kanji says, before swallowing. “I ain’t givin’ up until this is finished. Who d’you think I am, Senpai?”

“When he apologized, he said he seemed to think I would have it in hand by myself, but I do take your point.”

Naoto pulls out the last card at the end of the day, by the shoe lockers. _I did what you can’t stand to at a place you’d be fond of, but underneath, rather than inside._

Up to now, the riddles have left Kanji stumped. He’s not very good at that kind of thinking. But this one’s about _Naoto_ , not a bunch of nonsense that doesn’t mean anything until you do math to it. He thinks about the clue for maybe ten seconds before saying, “So it’s under the trash can on the hill, right?”

Naoto looks at him like he’s grown a second head, then laughs, unrestrained and clearly delighted. (He wants to bottle this memory and keep it forever.) “An excellent deduction, Kanji-kun. Shall we?”

Up on the hill, Kanji hefts the trash can aside – and nearly drops it when he sees what’s underneath. There’s a stuffed rabbit on the ground, hand-knitted. Once it was white, but now it’s the off-gray of yarn that’s been well-loved for a decade, with some blue spots that’re probably dye transfer from Naoto’s clothes. One of its button eyes is wobbly, and there’s a hole in the back, leaking some very squashed-looking stuffing. But even more damning than that—

(“But Dad, I can’t give this to Nori-chan! I messed up!”

“Relax, Kan-chan. I bet she’ll love it anyway. You made it just for her, and all by yourself.”)

—is the fifth leg.

In that moment, Kanji’s absolutely sure of one thing: Naoto’s grandfather never meant for Senpai to end up with the first card, not when Kanji’s first-ever solo knitting project is staring up at them.

“Five-Legs!” Naoto ducks down to pick up the poor rabbit. “How did he – for heaven’s sake, Grandfather—”

Kanji’s never seen Naoto this discombobulated, not even in the TV world, but if Five-Legs is as well-loved as he looks, he can’t say he doesn’t get it. This is kind of a step beyond ‘stealing’ a bunch of kid’s detective tools that Naoto probably hasn’t touched in years. He sets the trash can down and, without really thinking about it, slips an arm around Naoto’s shoulders, and lets out a sigh of relief when Naoto doesn’t try to pull away.

Eventually, Naoto finds some composure again. “The nerve of that man. It wasn’t simply about reminding me of my love of puzzles – it was to remind me that I had connections to others, once.”

“Looks like he’s been a good friend for you, at least.” Which is good – that’s exactly what Kanji wanted Five-Legs to be.

“He has. I raised a fuss until I was allowed to take him to my parents’ funeral. I… I don’t know if I could ever thank you properly.”

“Well, for a start, let me take him home and fix him up. We’ve got stuffing and shit, and a laundry bag so I can wash him without him falling apart.”

“I suppose I could do that.” Naoto hands him over. “Just don’t take off the fifth leg? I’d hate to lose what makes him truly unique.”

“You kiddin’? If I did that now, you’d probably shoot me.”

Naoto _actually giggles_. “I doubt I would need to resort to such drastic measures, Kanji.” He’s barely registered the missing honorific when Naoto knocks him for another loop by leaning up and kissing his cheek. “You have my gratitude.”

He’s too stunned to react, but it seems like he has a hell of a lot more than that.

***

Neither of them talks about the kiss for months after that; Kanji patches up Five-Legs and returns him to Naoto, and then there’s the fog, and finals, and Adachi, and making the most of Senpai’s last few months in Inaba. With Naoto, it’s probably just not knowing how to people, and Kanji doesn’t really see a good opening for it, for all Rise gives him crap about not inviting Naoto over for Christmas Eve.

(That’s a _couple_ thing. They just might be a little beyond friends, but they ain’t a couple.)

So he doesn’t say anything, not during the ski trip, not on Valentine’s (even though Naoto gives him a box of damn fine chocolate), not even on White Day (even though he returns the favor) – not until Senpai’s train back to the city is pulling away.

If fighting Izanami did anything, it drove home that they don’t have forever. They’re damn lucky she let them leave at all; he can’t keep avoiding the issue like they have all the time in the world. Sooner or later, Naoto’s gonna go away for cases, and probably will be away for work more often than not. Detecting’s a dangerous job to boot. Not everyone’s gonna be happy to have a Shirogane all up in their business.

Kanji’s never been one to do anything halfway, so he scoops Naoto up right there on the platform, ignoring their friends and Nanako-chan and even Dojima-san, and goes in for a kiss. Naoto squeaks, and blushes (even with his eyes closed he can feel the heat)… and kisses him right back.

It’d be a perfect moment, except Ted has to ruin it. “Wow, Kanji! Are you _scoring_?”

Oh well. They’ll have chances for more later, with a response like that. He can live with it.


End file.
